He who knows, without seeing, does not understand the mystery. Even should every detail of beauty be accounted for by the intellect, does such a tabulation lead to beauty? Is the beaut that can be neatly reckoned really profound? The scholar of aesthetics tends to base his ideas on knowledge – or rather, he tries to make seeing proceed from knowing. But this is a reversal of the natural order of things.
Sōetsu Yanagi “The Unknown Craftsman”
An enclosure, a ground, even a carpet, define a field. What is included with the field is distinguished from what is outside it, even if the elements within are heterogeneous.
Pierre Von Meiss “Elements of Architecture – From Form to Place”
In mid-February of this year I visited The Huntington Library in San Marino, California, a quaint little town north east of Los Angeles. The 500 acre estate was purchased by Henry Edwards Huntington about a century ago and currently contains a rare manuscript library, an extensive art collection and several botanical gardens and landscapes set across 120 acres. One of the most frequently visited areas is the Japanese garden. Having lived in Japan for a while prior to obtaining my Master’s Degree in Architecture, I was curious to visit this garden and see what design lessons it holds that I first experienced while abroad.
